Master of Arts in Humanities, Self-Designed

The Creative Writing Specialization allows students to develop the craft of writing in multiple genres and explore literary expression in order to achieve greater proficiency in their own craft as writers. Students will also be able to apply foundational skills of a creative writer in a larger societal context. This specialization cultivates students’ ability to examine the craft of other writers (both historical and contemporary) and to name, describe, and critically examine the formal elements of their work, including language, character, story, theme, rhythm, and tone. Coursework will call upon students to consider the impact that creative writing has on our world. Students are encouraged to consider the importance of writers in our larger communities, society, and culture to move toward a contextual understanding of one's own voice within a continuum of writers. These skills include the ability to comment on the work of other writers, participate in a writing community, and apply best practices of editing and grammar.

This specialization provides an overview of intercultural communication concepts, placing them in the context of a constructivist paradigm and relating them to other theories of human flourishing. Specific topics include cultural patterns of language use, perception, communication style, nonverbal behavior, and value orientations, arising from cultural differences or from different ways of perceiving reality that stem from one’s way of living or being in the world. Intercultural communication perspectives enrich one’s understanding of stereotyping, group prejudice, antiracism, multiculturalism, and intercultural adaptation. This specialization will primarily focus on the lived experiences of individuals and groups from oppressed, marginalized, or invisible communities in the Americas, including African American communities, Latin communities, LGBTQI communities, and communities of disability.

The principal goal of the I.M.A. specialization in Interdisciplinary Humanities incorporates Philosophy, Literature, History, Art, and Religious Studies is to produce critical thinkers and researchers of high quality who describe and research the problems central to the human condition. The courses and fields in this area span several areas of the Humanities, drawing on various historical eras and schools of thought. Individuals informed by the great Eastern and Western intellectual traditions can apply the methods of philosophical, historical, literary, spiritual, or aesthetic analysis to a broad range of current existential problems, and can carve their own pathway in their chosen field. Courses cover various media and time periods in the arts, styles of music, and instruments from other cultures. Projects allow for personal interpretation and application in an interdisciplinary/cross-curricular learning environment. This specialization also readies students who plan to pursue a doctoral program in the Humanities or other related fields, or a terminal degree in Law.